More quilts from the quilt show in Houston.

Patriot’s Dream by Barbara Shrout,  The name is inspired by a line from America the Beautiful—“O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years…”  I love the curved edges.

Barn Raising by Lauren Semple.  Isn’t it amazing what can be done with half-square triangles!

Standing Strong by Sharon Dixon.

The Secret Life of Dancing Tulips by Jeanne Brenner.  The title refers to the dancing tulips subtly quilted into the border.

I love the shading achieved by different tones of the same color.

Sunflowers 2 by Charlotte A. Hickman.  I think sunflowers are such happy flowers!

Black-Eyed Susans and Yellow Mexican Hats by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert.These two flowers grow wild along the roadside in Texas.

Portraits of Flora by Timna Tarr.  What a great use of many, many fabrics!

This next quilts wasn’t at the show in Houston, but there’s a reason I’m showing it here.  It’s called Checkerboard Vortex, maker unknown.  It’s quite famous in the quilting world, appearing in many books and at the recent Red and White quilt exhibit in New York.  This quilt was made around 1920!  In the book Twentieth Century Quilts 1900 – 1950 it’s described as, “Extraordinarily contemporary in its design, this amazing quilt is a triumph of precise design and piecing, and it it an astonishing precursor to the art of Vasarely.”  Like many others, I’m in love with this quilt.

Incredibly, Nora Ronningen has made her own version of the quilt which she calls Vortex in Variation.

I could hardly pull myself away.  It was stunning!

Preserve Nature, Preserve Self by Susie Johnson.  Did you know the gingko tree has been around for 270 million years!?!

Redwork Revisited by Susan Dague.

The maker used old kitchen transfers for the designs on this quilt.

I think the sashings are great, too!  They are just half-square triangles.

One of the exhibits was called Text on Textiles.  In the display area were several old typewriters.  Wow, an orange one!

Ethel’s Diary by Eileen Campbell is a great use of photos and words on a quilt.

I remember pressed tin toy typewriters like this one!

This adorable portable is a lot like the one we have that Bob’s grandfather used in his “Tailoring Parlor” in Libby Montana in the early 1900′s.  The carriage flips forward and the whole thing fits into a case!

Salvaged Words by Jette Clover.  There are pages from vintage books used on this quilt!

I’ve used words and photos on labels, but not as the main focus of the quilt.  This is from my Dearest Brother quilt, which tells the story of Anna Lena’s life.

Hmmm, that might make a good blog post!

One of the best things about going to Market in Houston is the quilt show.  One of the worst things is that there are a lot of the areas that don’t allow photography.  Bummer!  I did, however (legally) take pictures of a lot of quilts.  Half of them are in this post.

Pinned to the Past by Michal Tammy Waschsmann.  This quilt was made to hold pins she collects.  Pretty clever, huh?

Dixie Dingo Dreaming by Susan E. Carlson is based on a photo of her dog Pippin.

La Luz by Betty Busby depicts a hiking trail in Albuquerque.

Outback – Beyond Broken Hill by Eileen R. Campbell.  The birds are called corellas!

One exhibit was about eating heathy!  This is called Delicious Bouquet by Nita Markos.

Galactic Daiquiri by Cherie Gooler.

Fruits + Vegetables = Good for You and Your Heart! by Dea L. Larson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the O Canada exhibit comes this quilt, Vancouver Cityscape at Dust by Terry Aske.  I was really taken with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheel of Teal by Marilyn J. Farquhar.

Skating by Joyce E. Seagram.  This reminded me of all the skating trips I took with my mom and sister.

This quilt was in the Traditional Pieced display.  It’s called Star Medallion with 96 Baskets b Kathleen McCrady.  It’s hand pieced and hand quilted.  She finished it one week before her 85th birthday!

Weitverzweight by Brigitte Morgenroth is all silk!

My Favorite Things by Meiko Sasano,  She was inspired by flowers painted on porcelain.

Both the appliqué and quilting were exquisite.

Carnival by Monica Troy.

YoYo2: Trip Around the World by Helen Remick.

It’s always fun to have a bit of whimsy, like Answering Nature’s Call by Kathy Augur Smith.

A lovely, traditional quilt.  Sawblades by Myra Hall.

Churn Dash Exchange by Kathleen Poznick.

More to come!

Before I show the rest of the quilts I took pictures of, I should tell you about the ones I didn’t take pictures of.  There were tons of quilts that had beading and bedazzling on them!  The workmanship was superb, but I’m not a glitz-your-quilt kinda gal, so I didn’t take pictures of those!  I did, however, take photos of the more traditional quilts.  These are the ones that float my boat!

First, a little humor.  This is a feedsack quilt!  Yep, made with modern, plastic feedsacks.  How funny!

I recently saw another version of this quilt at the Sisters quilt show.  I’m gonna make this one someday!

When I first looked at this quilt, I saw bow ties–gray bow ties pointing left and cream bow ties pointing right.  On closer examination, though, this quilt is a combination of snowballs (red floral) and four patches.

There’s something to be said for quilts from solid fabrics.

Love the gradation of colors on this quilt.

Love it!  There’s a lot of work in this border.

Isn’t this gorgeous?

This antique quilt was in the Latimer Quilt Museum’s booth.

So was this one.

Don’t miss the border treatment when looking at this quilt.

Great setting.

This was a “quilt rescue,” according to the info.

I’ve always called this block Girl with Nosegay.

Fabulous Drunkard’s Path.

It’s made with bias edges!

Lots of inspiration.  I’ve gotta go sew!

 

Yesterday Connie and I traveled to Tacoma for the Pacific West Quilt Show.  It was a gorgeous day.  This was the view from the street in front of the convention center.

I’ve always been crazy about poppies.

And evidently I’m not alone!

Especially orange poppies!

There were several “poppy” quilts at the show.

And other floral quilts.

As one friend put it, “It’s a very esoteric show!”

I’d have to agree with that!

There were lots of landscape quilts.

Some traditional barns in a not-so-traditional setting.

Barns that are a bit more abstract.

I love this village!  She drew it with Elmer’s glue then used dye to create the design!

There was some amazing quilting to be seen.

The whole cloth quilts were stunning.

Nice use of hand dyed fabric.

How can his quilt be perfectly flat but look like it has a big bubble in the middle?

Can you even imagine drafting the center of this quilt?

It reminded me of this quilt from the 1930′s.

There were some great pictorial quilts.

I loved the draft horses.

Isn’t this beautiful?

I loved these pens!  Perhaps it was made for an author or calligrapher.

I thought the next three quilts were quite unique.  They’re made in the style of Northwest Indian button blankets.

More “traditional” quilts tomorrow!

When I stopped at the Willapa Harbor Quilt Show last week, I was delighted that the first quilt that greeted me was an antique–this beautiful Irish Chain.  The quilt was pieced between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield County Ohio.

The finished squares were about 1″ and the quilting stitches were amazing.  The border alone is a work of art!

I’m always pleased to see Redwork.  The vintage cats were adorable.

And Becky Coburn had stitched my Redwork Flower Baskets.

And Yvonne Smith had done the Blue Flower Baskets!

Pat Jones had done the Sunbonnet Sue and Scottie, too quilt.

She also did this charming Christmas mini.

This was the gorgeous raffle quit the guild had made.

This is Prairie Paint by Alice Wells.

Here’s a wonderful quilt for the outdoorsman.  I’m sorry I don’t know who made it.  Note: I received this message today from the quilt show chair and wanted to share it with you.  The outdoor fishing quilt was made by a group of women who were sisters.  Our local sister member is Vivian Edersheim.  One of the sisters, Bertha, decided to make each of her brothers a quilt and had barely gotten started when she was hit with cancer.  After her death, her surviving sisters decided to finish the quilts, and over the completion process the quilts traveled over 2000 miles as each sister took her turn at working on blocks.  Bertha continues to share her love of fabric and quilting with our guild because her sister Vivian has shared her fabrics and scraps with our group, and we pay a small donation to Vivian which in turn she gives to a charity.

Pat Jone’s made the Backyard Birds quilt.

This quilt is called Under the Sea by Arlyn Harris.  Perfect underwater colors!

Oldzii is a Never Ending Knot pattern made by Toni Gwinn.

Yvonne Smith made this Kindred Spirits quilt.

Oh!  This is my Christmas fabric made into a table runner by Helga Schiel.

Here’s the same pattern (which was designed by my friend, Karen Montgomery).  This patriotic version was made by Alice Wells.

I love the name of this cat quilt–Eight Lives Left.  It’s by Toni Gwin.

Lovebird Lane is by Dorothy Gruginski.

Life’s a Journey by Vickie Fenstermacher really caught my eye.

Who wouldn’t love an orange quilt?  Windmill by Marge Habersetzer.

The stitchery work on this quilt,Wild  Flowers by Vickie Fenstermacher, was amazing.

This quilt has a wonderful story.  Margaret Payne gave her nephew, Bruce Hill, the aqua fabric seen in this quilt.  Bruce, a quilter, made this quilt using the aqua fabric and gave it back to Margaret!

 

This vintage Flower Garden quilt was started over 70 years ago!  It was pieced by Catherine Lorton.

Charlene Phinney was the featured quilter.  Her quilts, like these African Birds, were works of art.

I believe this flowers are her work, also.

She created Rusted Quilt With No Name when she was playing with triangles.

This plaid quilt is the result of a class she took with Roberta Horton.

Another funky bird quilt!

 

More of Charlene’s work.  She hand dyes many of her fabrics.

 

I love these houses.

Dorothy Gruginski made this beautiful Out of the Darkness quilt.

The quilting was done by Arlyn Harris and is just beautiful.

The variegated thread was a perfect choice for this quilt.

It was a lovely show and I was delighted when I was asked if I would the featured quilter next year!

In the past, the Sisters Quilt Show has always been a one day affair.  This year, they added a few activities on Sunday and called it Save It ’til Sunday.  I attended a lecture given by Jean Wells at Five Pines Lodge.  As usual, Jean had great slides and lots of inspiration.  But, the best part was the setting…

…and the quilts on display around the cabins at Five Pines.

As you can see, the setting was beautiful.  Just look at the wildflowers blooming everywhere.

I’m sure those trees weren’t planted with a quilt show in mind, but how perfect!

The dappled shade made the temperature just lovely.

And the layers and layers of quilts were real eye candy.

As you wandered the property, there were lots of quilts to see.

I think there’s really something special about quilts displayed in this kind of environment.

It just makes me want to put up a clothesline and hang quilts outside everyday!

There was even a stream running through the property.

The path followed the stream.

The middle quilt here is a stack of knitting needles!

This quilt looks like it could have grown right in its setting.

There’s something so fresh about daisies, and the size of these was great.

I’m crazy about this sunflower quilt where the flowers are made from New York Beauty blocks.

Another stunning New York Beauty quilt.

And look at this quilt that captures the colors of a trip to South Africa, as well as the animals.

It was a truly amazing exhibit.

Special Exhibits are always exciting to see.  There’s a quilt guild in the Portland area called Cover to Cover Quilts.  Every six months they read a book and make a quilt based on it!

I’m sure you can guess their latest project–Alice in Wonderland!

Even the Mad Hatter was there.

And the Hookah smoking character.

And the Cheshire Cat.

Oh no!  Alice goes down the rabbit hole!

Most of my knowledge of Alice comes from the Jefferson Airplane Song!

The Cheshire Cat.

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” (Actually, I am, but I wanted to get this post up before I leave!)

Another great exhibit that I enjoyed was this one, sponsored by Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest from Salem.

Fiber Artists were asked to make their interpretation of a tree.

They were amazing.

Sisters is located in Central Oregon.

It’s on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains.

All the area beyond Sisters is high desert–sage brush, junipers and lava rock.

It’s as close to the old West as you can get.

If you love the outdoors, it’s a great place to live.

I always think of quilts like these as Central Oregon quilts.

They are so influenced by the the world around them.

I find them truly works of art.

These are what I call the Novelty or Pictorial quilts.  Some are whimsical and some are works of art.

This VB bus sure fits the whimsical category!  I love the attention to detail, like the tiny barbecue and the ice chest!

More summer fun!

This reminds me of gathering eggs in the hen house.  Yes, I’ve really done that!

I wish this were our forecast!

Around the edge, this quilts says, “There’s No Place Like Home.”

Hmm, I wonder if I need a quilt like this in my potting shed?

What little boy wouldn’t love this quilt?

OMG!  Isn’t this adorable.  I’d even like it without the robot.

I was delighted to see this.  It’s made with my friend Glenna’s fabric.

So was this one!

Aye, the pot o’ gold!

Isn’t this charming?

This butterfly quilt was for sale from one of the antique dealers.  Even though butterfly quilts are my favorites, I didn’t buy it.  I already have one like it in my collection.

Who says orange doesn’t look good with pink and green?

Moon over the mountain?

I love this cat pattern.  Not so much the “things” in the borders.

I thought this was very whimsical.

I wonder what the inspiration for this quilt was.

Very pretty.

This Mammy quilt was nicely done.

Great fabrics in the clothing.

I’m starting to see some interesting and modern versions of the Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

I love sunflowers, and the pieced backing on this really makes it sparkle.

Wow!

The bird in this quilt looks more real than the lady’s eyebrows!

The realistic ones fascinate me.

When I was organizing my pictures, I decided to do a separate section for applique.  Like all quilts, it’s amazing how diverse “applique” can be!

It’s always so interesting to see how the same pattern is done by different people.

This looks like it was a fun challenge.

Here’s an Asian inspired quilt.

The mottled green in the leaves and stems of this quilt are really cool.

Wow!

Not only is the applique on this quilt stunning, so is the quilting.  Imagine being brave enough to quilt with black thread on white!

This quilt was wool.

Here’s a lovely Baltimore Album style quilt.

Sorry I don’t know how to photoshop out the sign that was hanging from this porch, but I thought the quilt was worth sharing.

This Hawaiian sampler is so pretty.

Another Hawaiian influenced quilt.

Oh, I have the pattern for this.  It’s on my to-do list.  It cracked me up that the maker left the buds out of one basket!

This quilt really popped!

Does this say Flower Power or what?

So graceful.

The split leaves on this quilt are great.

It’s hard to beat bright in my book.

This is a very interesting combination of piecing and applique.  It’s done with Asian fabrics on a black background.  If you look carefully, you can see a bamboo design stitched into it.

I think I may like poppies even better than daisies!

This quilt makes me want to get out a Matchbook car and have some fun!